A mindful approach to understanding Black mothers' psychological functioning.
Sophia Lamb, Fatima Varner
Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology August 20, 2026 DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000819 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 305 |
| Population | Black American mothers (mean age 37, SD 8.44) |
| Key findings | Black mothers who reported more discrimination also reported higher anxiety and depressive symptoms and lower psychological well-being. Mindfulness was associated with lower anxiety and depressive symptoms and higher well-being, and more frequent meditation with lower anxiety and higher well-being. No significant moderating effects were found, leading the authors to propose that mindfulness and meditation may compensate for, rather than buffer, discrimination's negative associations. |
Abstract
We examined associations between Black mothers' discrimination experiences and psychological functioning (i.e., anxiety, depressive symptoms, and psychological well-being). In addition, we explored mindfulness and meditation frequency as moderators of these associations. We analyzed data from a 2015 cross-sectional online study of 305 Black American mothers (Mage = 37, SD = 8.44). We ran three path analyses using Mplus (Version 8). Black mothers who experienced discrimination experienced higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and lower psychological well-being. Mindfulness was negatively associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms and positively associated with psychological well-being. Meditation frequency was negatively associated with anxiety and positively associated with psychological well-being. There were no significant moderating effects. Mindfulness and meditation can compensate for negative associations between discrimination and Black mothers' psychological functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).